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Home / New Zealand

Busted water tank at West Coast family's Kāinga Ora home leads to asbestos fears, weeks in motels

Akula Sharma
By Akula Sharma
Multimedia journalist, NZ Herald·NZ Herald·
20 Jul, 2022 02:36 AM5 mins to read

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Thieves get their hands dirty on building sites, what the Government’s latest Kiwibuild changes could mean for you, and a female officer knocked out in a vicious attack in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald

A family of four say they will be homeless in two days' time after a tank in their state home exploded and forced them to move out.

West Coast woman Kristy Baty said her whānau have been shoved from pillar to post after losing the Kāinga Ora property to an unexpected water tank explosion which has left possessions damaged and a possible exposure to asbestos.

The family has stayed in three different motels since June 6 as they wait for a replacement rental to become available.

However, Kāinga Ora said the family have been offered a new home to move into that the tenant refused to take, wanting to live in a home that was considered "more suitable".

Regional Kāinga Ora director for Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast Julia Campbell said the agency was continuing to work with Baty and her whānau to resolve the issues.

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"We have already offered Kristy a new home to move to in Cobden.

"However, she has decided not to accept this property in favour of another property that has recently become available and is more suitable for her and her whānau long-term."

Campbell said some maintenance work to get the second property ready will be carried out for the family in the coming weeks.

"We have been in regular communication with Kristy and her support person since her home was damaged and we will continue to keep in touch.

"We will also cover Kristy's moving costs."

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But for Baty the wait for a new home was proving traumatic.

"We are suffering enough by having to leave our family home full of memories," she said.

"It has been a very traumatic time for us. We need stability. We need our home."

Baty said the family was now staying in a very small motel room that didn't have bedrooms.

Their teenager was being woken up all hours by their 15-month-old and the family's mental health was starting to suffer, she said.

Baty said problems began last month with a leak in the laundry, which later spread to the bathroom and hallway cupboards.

When the plumber went to the ceiling to check on the leak the water tank had exploded, Baty said.

So, he deemed the property unsafe to live in and Kāinga Ora was informed of the situation.

On the same afternoon, the family were moved to a motel.

"We were told we would only be there for a couple of days," Baty said.

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"A worker told us that we would be in our home by the following Friday so we were fine with staying."

During the week, her husband went to their house to feed their dog, and he saw workers removing fans due to asbestos exposure, she said.

"He asked them, 'is it safe for us to come back here?' and the worker told him 'for five minutes, yes'.

"I immediately called Kāinga Ora and informed them what we were told."

Late last month, the family was shifted to another motel. Earlier this month, the family was moved again. Their current lodgings are due to end on Friday.

This week, Kristy contacted her case worker to find out what was happening next for the family.

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The case worker told her a request to extend the family's stay at the motel was made while the agency was getting another house ready for them.

Request for assistance from Work and Income was also made but unsuccessful, she said.

"I was informed they could not act on it that day because our address had not changed and we had not signed up for a new house and that I needed proof from Kāinga Ora that our belongings stored in the house were not safe.

"The manhole cover was off for days while the workers had fans blowing all that toxicity (asbestos) around our home, the house isn't safe therefore any items in the house would be a risk, especially to a family with children and complex health issues."

The family have created a Givealittle page asking for community support to replace lost items.

Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Craig Churchill said Baty got in touch with them following the flooding and subsequent issues with the property.

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"We have provided her and her family with additional assistance with food and clothing.

"Kristy has also asked for help replacing damaged household items."

Churchill said Baty was advised to approach Kāinga Ora in the first instance, regarding a claim to replace the items that were damaged.

"If that claim is unsuccessful, Kristy has undertaken to call us back so we can see what support we can provide via a hardship grant."

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